PIT Post-Gazette: Pirates overcome seven-run deficit but lose home opener

The Pirates overcame a seven-run deficit but lost to the Chicago Cubs, 10-8, on a botched bit of baserunning in the ninth inning and reliever Evan Meek’s wild showing in the 12th—five walks and two wild pitches framed Aramis Ramirez’s decisive sacrifice fly—this afternoon at PNC Park.
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Brian Bixler ran for Doumit, and he took third on Xavier Nady’s deliberate grounder to the right side. Doug Mientkiewicz was intentionally walked, and Bautista tried a squeeze bunt up the first-base line toward Derrek Lee.

It was a play the Pirates rehearsed often in spring training and executed once successfully last week in Atlanta, but it failed this time. Bixler briefly broke from third, hesitated, then went back. Bautista was tagged by Lee for an easy second out.
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“It’s a play that, if he breaks, we get a run out of it,” Bautista said. “I don’t know what happened on the other end. I couldn’t tell you.”

“It just kind of caught me off guard,” Bixler said. “I didn’t really expect it. I just kind of stopped and let the play go as it did.”
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“If he takes off right away, it’s over,” [Manager John] Russell said. “Bixler just froze.”

From the other side, Lee acknowledged the game would have ended if Bixler had taken off.

Of course, that was merely one lowlight from a game that appeared to be between two Midwest League teams. U-G-L-Y